


Day One Hundred Thirty-Seven || Red Lines

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [137]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 07:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18868456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: There are some lines - for their safety - that they must never cross. But children are wont to get into trouble...even if they don't intend to.





	Day One Hundred Thirty-Seven || Red Lines

They’ve been traveling all day.

With tired feet, Sasuke’s up on his brother’s back, dozing as his clan migrates south. Quick and quiet. Hopefully unseen. Such a large force, of course, isn’t hard to notice...but most of them  _ are _ shinobi. Hopping through the branches of this landscape’s tall trees, they’re swift and silent as they make their way from their last encampment.

After the battle days prior...it’s no longer safe.

So, once again, the Uchiha are on the move.

Nearing evening, they finally find a place to settle for the night. A rolling hill comes to an abrupt stop, dropping into an inwardly-curved cliff. Below, a shallow pool of fresh water from a natural spring feeds out into a stream.

Fugaku considers the area, kinsmen watching him wordlessly. “...here. Fill your water skins, and put down bedrolls in the cave.”

Hopefully anyone after them will miss such a spot.

Rousing as subtle noises sound with the setup of camp, Sasuke rubs at his eyes. “Aniki…?”

Itachi manages a weary smile as he sets his brother down. “We’re calling it a night. Hungry? Thirsty?”

The young Uchiha just nods, prompting Itachi to begin caring for his needs. A waterskin is handed over, Sasuke sipping it as his brother tends to their section of the camp. Their mother is busy checking on the other vulnerable members of the clan: the young, old, sick, and injured. Fugaku, on the other hand, talks lowly with his top warriors, faces all drawn with tension and unease.

Sasuke watches before Itachi draws his gaze again. “Here - eat this.”

Accepting a nori-wrapped onigiri, Sasuke carefully munches every grain of rice before sitting beside his brother. Their bedrolls are toward the rear of the shallow cave. Any assailants would have to go through everyone else first to get to them.

“Aniki, is this our new home?”

“For now,” Itachi replies evasively. “You know we have to move often as the Senju battle us.”

Sasuke’s head bows. “I know…”

“Someday, Sasuke...we’ll have a real home. A house, with a roof and a floor, and walls. We can start a garden, and maybe get you a dog.”

That perks the boy up. “Really?”

“...someday.”

It’s late before their parents return, Sasuke already asleep. Itachi watches his father with sharp black eyes as he unfurls a map.

“...here,” he murmurs, a calloused finger pointing to a dense cluster of foliage marked on the parchment. “This is our current position.” His mouth sets into a grim line. “...we’re not as far as I’d like, but this place is hard to spot from a distance from the direction we came. Gods willing, we’ll be lucky and go unnoticed for now.”

“Where will we go next?” the elder son asks quietly

“I’ve got scouts out checking our perimeter, and seeing what other clans might be nearby. I’ll plot out their positions come morning, and...we’ll go from there.”

Itachi just nods solemnly.

“Itachi dear, you should get some sleep,” Mikoto chides gently. “We’ll have a long day ahead of us. And you’ll need to keep both eyes on your brother.”

“Hai.”

Curling around his little brother, Itachi watches him for a time before managing to slip into sleep.

Morning, as always, comes early. And it’s Sasuke who rouses first for once. Wriggling out of his sleeping brother’s grip, he finds Fugaku already awake. Seated with a map atop his lap, he’s carefully tracing lines atop it, referring quite heavily to other parchment at his side. A glance shows reports from the previous night’s scouts. Red ink outlines certain sections of the map.

Gingerly sitting beside his father, Sasuke builds the courage to ask, “What are those red lines…?”

Giving Sasuke a glance, Fugaku takes a moment to respond, finishing a line. “These...are marks that show me where our enemies are camped. None of us are to go there, Sasuke.”

“Not even you?”

“No, not even me. We must work our way around them, lest we invite more fighting.”

“Are they Senju…?” he asks quietly, both fear and awe in his tone.

“No. There are many more clans than just us, and the Senju,” Fugaku clarifies. “The Inuzuka, Akimichi, Nara, Hyūga, Sarutobi...and more.”

“Are they all bad guys?”

After a small hitch of breath, his father sighs. “...no. There really is no good or bad when it comes to clans, my son. We are all simply competing for the same things. Food, water, land...and competition can make people do terrible things in order to secure those things. Even kill.”

Sasuke wilts a bit. “Oh…”

“Someday...I hope we will find a land to call our own, with no more fighting.” There’s a bone-deep exhaustion in Fugaku’s eyes. “...I tire of losing our people to these squabbles. Someday...I hope there will be peace.”

Someday, someday...it’s a word everyone uses so often. But when will it  _ be _ someday, Sasuke can’t help but wonder.

“So, be sure to stick close to camp,” Fugaku then adds, drawing his son’s gaze back to his face. “We don’t want to wander and stumble into trouble. Understand?”

“Hai.”

The Uchiha linger in their encampment for nearly a week. By then, Sasuke has the entire layout memorized, including the outlying areas where he barely dares to tread. His father’s words have made him cautious.

But even caution can’t be outweighed by a child’s curiosity.

Having been learning to use a bow with his brother, Sasuke keeps his and a quiver on his person whenever he’s awake. He also carries a single kunai for protection, but he’s too young yet to make much use of many standard shinobi tools. Instead, he relies mostly on his brother to keep him safe. But Itachi has been busy helping their father, and Sasuke patrols the camp alone.

That is...until he hears a noise in the bushes…!

Perking up, he stares, trying to spot whatever it is. Likely just a tanuki, or maybe some birds. But, wanting to be sure, Sasuke glances back to camp before carefully moving after it.

...there it goes! Wriggling through the underbrush, whatever it is takes off at full speed!

Immediately losing all other thought to the thrill of a chase, Sasuke brightens and goes after it. Back and forth it winds - maybe it’s a hare? - as they leave the Uchiha in the distance. Arrow nocked and eyes bright, Sasuke follows until they reach a clearing, and his foe stumbles out into the open.

A fox!

Pulling up his bow and drawing the string, Sasuke takes aim. But before he can shoot, a rock flies out from another side of the clearing, startling the winded creature into one last dash into more cover.

“Aww…!” Releasing the tension and pouting, Sasuke watches it go, realizing it’s a futile chase. But then he happens to think...who - or what - threw that rock…?

Looking to the proper direction, he sets his jaw, redrawing his bow. “Who’s there?”

Silence. Then a rustle. “P-please...don’t shoot…!”

A voice! It sounds like a girl - pretty young, too. Maybe his age? “Show yourself!”

Another long pause, then the foliage shifts, and...out creeps a child. Dressed in a plain lilac yukata, large pale eyes stare warily, hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I...I don’t m-mean you any harm!”

Slowly, Sasuke lowers his bow. Those eyes...he knows about them. His own clan’s distant cousins: she has to be a Hyūga.

Seeing him relax, she does the same. “I...I’m sorry about the fox, but...I didn’t want you to hurt it.”

“...s’okay,” Sasuke mumbles. He didn’t  _ need _ to kill it - they have plenty of supplies. These woods are plentiful.

“Um...m-my name is Hinata! Who are - w-who are you?”

“...Sasuke.” They both avoid last names, though there’s little mistaking what she is by her appearance. “What are  _ you _ doing out here?”

“Oh...I was l-looking for...for flowers.”

“Flowers…?” His nose wrinkles. “Isn’t that a silly thing to wander off alone for?”

“W-well, you were chasing a fox!”

“Cuz I thought it was a bad guy too close to our camp!”

As soon as he says it, Sasuke realizes that was a mistake. He shouldn’t reveal that they’re nearby…!

“Oh...that’s fair.”

“You...you can’t tell anyone you saw me!” he insists. 

Hinata balks. “I-I won’t!”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise!”

He eyes her for a moment, seeing her frightened posture. “...good.”

Silence falls for a time...and then a voice calls in the distance. “Hinata-sama!”

Gasping and looking back, she hesitates. “I...I-I have to go!”

“But -?”

“I won’t tell!” Digging through the bushes, Hinata brings out a small basket full of blooms. “Go, before someone s-sees you!”

Sasuke lingers a moment longer, not sure he can trust her. But she’s already making to jog back the way she came.

Before she leaves, however, she comes to a stop, turning and closing the gap even as Sasuke flinches. “Here!”

Fumbling, he manages to accept a flower. Pure white in color, it’s one he’s never seen before...not that he’s ever paid flowers any attention.

“Go!” Hinata hushes, retreating and calling out to the voice.

Broken from his confusion, Sasuke does just that, running all the way back to camp.

Slowing to a jog, he glances around, hoping no one notices his return. Thankfully no one notes his presence...or the previous lack thereof. Making his way to his bedroll, Sasuke examines his flower, a brow perked. Why did she give him a flower…?

“Oh, where did you find that?”

Flinching, Sasuke turns to see his mother. “...uh…”

“That’s a freesia,” Mikoto explains, kneeling beside her son. “It’s a flower that signifies trust!”

“A flower has a meaning…?”

“Oh, yes...it’s a very important language,” she replies. “Flowers are a way to communicate without words. Kunoichi use them to pass messages without others knowing!”

Considering that, Sasuke looks to his flower. Trust, huh…?

“Now, go wash up, ne? Dinner is almost ready. Your father and brother should be back soon.”

“Hai.” Removing his gear, Sasuke eventually tucks the bloom into his bedroll.

Maybe he’ll see her again someday...Hyūga Hinata.

**Author's Note:**

> Late, tired, blegh @~@
> 
> A Warring States era AU! One I hardly ever get to write. I really like the concept of the more "modern" characters being put back into that time period, and how they'd face the challenges of that era.
> 
> Buuut anyway, I'm VERY tired, so...that's all for now lol - thanks for reading!


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